NCTE Achievement Award in Writing

The National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Award in Writing was established in 1957 to encourage high school students in writing and recognize publicly some of the best student writers in the nation. The selection process is intense. The winning writers are selected for independence of thought, fresh insight, concern for expressiveness, keen observation and reflection, and sensitivity to nuances of word meaning. This year two young women were judged to be among the best young writers in the nation. This number is unprecedented in HC history is the top school for Illinois. The English Department is honored to recognize the following young women as NCTE Achievement Award Winners:

Senior Julia Quintero. Julia wrote an essay entitled “The Benefit of the Doubt.” Julia’s essay begins with the guilt she feels for not measuring up to her own expectations for what it means to be a “religious enough.” It is an exploration of her developing relationship with her faith and how some of the things that she thought were weaknesses are actually strengths.

Senior Grace Walsh wrote an essay entitled “Becoming What I Always Was.” Grace begins with the fact that she has always been “her father’s daughter” to others and works to define her complex and changing relationship with her mother.

Congratulations to Julia, Grace, and the teachers who have helped them become the writers that they are!